The case for 15: Does convicting VP Sara really need 16 votes?

Are 16 votes really needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte before the impeachment court?

This conventional view is being revisited ahead of her impeachment trial, and on the heels of instability at the Senate, where numerous senator-judges are facing legal battles that could prevent them from participating in the high-profile proceedings beginning July.

One school of thought argues that given one senator’s arrest, the threshold could be lowered.

The Constitution’s wording

Article XI, Section 3 (6) of the Constitution states: “No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.”